New HDD Format-Windows

OK I realize this is a real dumb question and I have seen the answers many times before but do you think I can find the relevant articles now that I need them???

OK again I have a brand new hard disk drive that I want to install as a replacement for my current one. I know I have to install all the operating system and all the other stuff but first of all I have to format the disk- yes?

I have done this before but for the life of me I can’t remember how I did it, it didn’t seem to difficult or I couldn’t have done it.

Please someone give me SIMPLE step by step instructions what to do when I plug in my virgin HDD and switch on the computer

Thanks :slight_smile:

If we’re talking about XP, I think the install CD will partition and format the drive for you; it should just be a case of:

Physically install the hard drive as the master device on the primary channel
Insert the Windows install CD
Boot the machine from the CD - it may do this automatically, or you may need to hold down a function key (F12 on my machine), or you might need to go into the CMOS setup utility and set it to attempt to boot from CD.
Follow the steps in the install wizard.

<Optional> Install the old drive as the master device on the secondary channel and either just keep it there to get at your old data, or transfer your documents etc, then wipe it and use it for archiving etc.

Not really asked, but I’ll offer my generic installation advice, which is:

  • Download (or buy) a software firewall and antivirus now (Sygate Personal firewall and AVG Free edition, for example) - burn the installer programs for these two items to a CD before you do the wipe/reinstall so that you can install them on your new system without having to go online and download them.
    If you have broadband, physically unplug it until after you’ve reinstalled and put the AV/firewall in place.
    Then go to Windows Update and install all of the available drivers/patches/service packs (if you have SP2 on a CD, I’d recommend using that instead of the online update version of it - at the point where the online update process calls for it - the CD just seems to install with less trouble, in my experience).

I suggest using a disk-cloning utility such as Norton Ghost.

Thanks for the info. Yes I am running XP so it should be easy from the instalation CD. When I did this last time I had a different computer with Windows 2000 and I seem to remember it being slightly more complicated with DOS start up screen which I have never been comfortable with.
I have burned most of my installer programs and files to CD as suggested. I also have the free SP2 disk from those nice people at Microsoft so that will help.
I intend to use my old drive as slave, initially to transfer anything that may have overlooked with the burn back-up CDs and then wipe it for archiving.
I don’t want to do a clone as the idea is to get a real clean install.
Am I right in assuming that the OS on what will be the slave drive for a time will not cause confusion with the new master and OS? :slight_smile:

The OS on the old drive shouldn’t be a problem as long as the BIOS isn’t set to try to boot from that device (this really would be quite unusual). I’d still recommend complete physical removal of the old drive until after the install is complete on the new one, just so that the various installers don’t get confused about where you want them to put their files - this is also pretty unlikely, but as it’s really easy to remove the old drive, it’s worth doing.

When I bought a new disk, it came with a bootable utility disk. I installed the new drive as a slave, and it formatted it, and gave me the option to copy my old boot drive to the new one and make it bootable. After doing that, I just made the new drive the master, and up came my old system with no hassles whatsover.

My new drive was a Western Digital, but I’d expect any major brand would have a similar utility.

I also recommend doing what UI just did in a similar new drive/clean install situation:
Spend the first few days on the new system installing programs that you’re absolutely sure you like; get the desktop and menus configured how you want them, run Windows Update, install the latest drivers for your hardware and the latest patches for your software, but *try not to create any new data just yet.
Then get hold of a hard drive imaging utility and write the image of your pristine system to a small handful of DVDs; this way, you’ve got a much more workable fallback position, should you ever wish to take advantage of a clean install and should you have to do it again, you’ll hit the ground running.

I followed your suggestion of plugging in the new drive and fired it up and it worked a treat. The system asked for the installation disk and then proceeded to format and install XP – wonderful. :slight_smile:
I’m also you with regarding making a pristine copy for next time. I am spending some time loading only the programs I really need and getting the setup that I want then making a DVD copy before I start messing it up again. :frowning:
A slightly related question. When one does a back-up I believe you only back up your personal data, set-up, files, My documents, My folders and things like that. The question is would a virus or any sort of nasty lurking thingy be lurking in these files and also be backed-up ready to strike again or would back-up not back them up? :confused: